LOCAL NOTEBOOK: Brenda Martinez registers top time in 800

Former Rancho Cucamonga High School and UC Riverside's Brenda Martinez got off to a good start at the USA Track and Field Championships on Thursday at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Martinez, 25, registered a 2:01.96 in her preliminary heat of the 800 and tied with Alysia Montano, who ran in a different heat, for the fastest time in the 33-person field.

She will run in a semifinal heat today, with the championship race on Saturday. The top three athletes in the event qualify for the World Championships in Moscow in August.

Freshman Khallifah Rosser of Chaffey College will also compete today in a first round heat of the junior men's 400 hurdles. Rosser, 17, was a state community college champion in that event last month for the Panthers.

Broncos add player

Chad Haysbert, a 6-foot-9 forward out of Sacramento American River is a new player added to the Cal Poly Pomona fold.

Haysbert averaged 13.3 points per game and shot 62.4 percent from the field. He also added 8.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game, earning first-team All Big 8 Conference honors.

Haysbert's lofty field goal percentage ranked seventh in the state and his rebound total of 213 proved to be the third-highest mark in the Big 8 Conference.

Local soccer player nominated

Senior soccer standout Jordan Bryant of Pomona-Pitzer has been nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

The Woman of the Year Award recognizes graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves in the areas of academics, athletics, leadership and community service.

A total of 455 athletes have been nominated - 214 in Division I, 90 in Division II and 151 in Division III.

Each conference selects one or two women as its representatives. A selection committee then chooses the top 10 honorees in each division. A field of nine finalists is announced in September.

Bryant, a native of Claremont, was a first-team All-SCIAC and third-team All-West Region selection. She was the team captain and was a starter at center back position.